Life was a lot simpler when you bought the whole Adam and Eve story as history. I still marvel at the amount of time and effort that is spent on finding the lost garden of Eden or in search of Noah’s Ark. They are fun to listen to as background noise while you do your crafting and when you have had it up to here with ancient aliens and big foot. The ark and Eden are theological myths, stories that have eternal truths locked into a fairy tale. In their case it is that big question politely put, “why are we so messed up?” The concept of original sin is considered passé by many but they still cannot answer the question as to why we constantly sabotage our existence. Some day, and I hope soon, the war in Syria will come to an end. What will finally be the event or events that end it, who knows. Nothing that comes of it will ever justify the utter stupidity of it. It will, in the future, be considered that “terrible time” and people will forget its horror and, sad to say, they will go on to find another conflict and start another war. The snake in the Garden of Eden promised Eve and Adam if they ate of the forbidden tree they would be like gods knowing the difference between good and evil. The snake didn’t lie; they did get to know the difference between good and evil. The problem is, they were not equipped to make good choices about them. Lent is a time to remind ourselves we are not God and we don’t always make good choices. Not that we are intrinsically bad but we do need to question our motives. Even Jesus, as we read in todays Gospel, was tempted to make decisions based on selfishness, desire and fear, a deadly trio. All too often we end up like Adam and Eve, we make a dumb mistake and find out we are na-ked, our foolishness for all to see. Lent is that time out to take stock and let go of the baggage which holds us back. “To let go and let God” or whatever other cliché we want to use to ex-press the universal prayer, God help us we need it. The bad news is we will always be human in need of help, the good news is God is out there, if we admit we need God. Have a happy, holy, merry Lent!

Presider: Fr. Jim DeBruycker

Encounter Power! "In the face of one another we will meet the face of God. Every sister, every brother...source of mercy, source of love." It is the First Sunday of Lent and our SJA Choir sings us into our Lenten encounters! Thank you to Lee and Grant Vague for inspir-ing our sung prayer today with two solos and to the Women's Drum Group for your call to worship on each Sunday in Lent. Welcome all!

On the first Sunday of Lent we have a story of an immigrant boy whose lie to get work for his grandfather backfires and teaches an important lesson. All are welcome at our joyful, child-centered liturgies in the church at 9:45/11:45 am! Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday, March 12. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward before you go to bed on Saturday night.

The Sunday Morning Registration and Information Office is located in the Parish Center. In the office you may register to become a SJA parishioner, get program information, sign up for a program, and register to volunteer. The office is open after both of our Sunday morning liturgies.

Sun, March 5: Genesis 2:7-9;3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Matt 4:1-11 Mon, March 6: Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18; Matthew 25:31-46 Tue, March 7: Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15 Wed, March 8: Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 11:29-32 Thu, March 9: Esther C:12, 14-16,23-25; Matthew 7:7-12 Fri, March 10: Ezekiel 18:21-28; Matthew 5:20-26 Sat, March 11: Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Matthew 5:43-48 Sun, March 12: Genesis 12:1-4a; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matt 17:1-9

Aislin, Anne, Nate Altoff, Zach Arlein, Ben, Jodi B., Ray B., Sally Backstrom, Louisa Bailey, Jean Ball, Dennis Barta, Elaine Boehm, Sally Bolster, Lorraine Bryant, Pam Burd, George C., Dayna Cell, Joe Chouinard, Dolores Cufaude, Dejon Culver, Barb D., Roger D., Judith Dale, Colleen Dooley,

Anne Duvalley, Eric, Kristian Erickson, Jermaine F., John & Margaret Frees, Donna Gallmeier, Peter & Kathleen Giefer, Betty Goodman, Ben Goodwin, Ralph Gotto, Heidi Gregoric, Tom Griep, Paula Grodecki, Angie Hancock, Brent Harapat, Jamel Harris, Mary Havstad, Bernhard Hering, Brad Hinker,

Helen Hinton, Jim Hinton, Ethan Hoeschen, Megan Hoffman, Mary Hoody, Emily Horner, Jan Horner, Kathy Horner, Neysa Housley, Kirk Ingram, Dorothy Irvin, Judy, Ginny J., Trica Jaconson, Cecilia Jaisle, Dan & Tom Jay, Katie Johnson, Rich Johnson, Scott Johnson, Paul Jonsson, Kevin, Stevie K., Glen Kelley, Paul L., Amy Lainus, Iva Lang, Rachel Larson, Gary Lindstrom, Pat Lyon, Jim Lyons, Malia, Marguerite, Mark, Mary Kay, Kyle M., Thomas Madryga, Katherine Malaga, Anthony Marino, Harvey May, Wally May, Dawn McClelland, Chuck Meiers, Mike, Marie Moilenan, Sid Monroe, Jean & Bob Moore, Nate, Steve Nathe, Tim Nipper, Erma Odendahl, Rana Olk, Ken Olsen, Dick Olson, Paul Olvera, Pam, Judy P.,

Joan Penrose, Bill Peterka, Dick Pirola, Bennett Queen, Rick, Doris Rausch, Jimmy Rieck, Donald Roufs, Larry Roupe, Margaret Rowser, Helen Russett, Conrad Sampair, Kay Samuelson, Kay Sanders, Gene Schultz, Larry Seekamp, Dana Sell, Mac Shapland, Aileen & Dave Sheppard, Sam Slagerman, Corrine Smith, Joan Speltz, Jeff Stearns, Ted, Teddy, Tony, Irene Taddiken, Matthew Tennant, Mary Eve Thomas, Echo Thoren,

Carin Vagle, Leroy Vague, Marlys Weber, Bennett Wentworth, Maureen Wolf,

Prayer Corner Requests: To keep prayer requests current, names will be included in the bulletin for four weeks and then removed. To add a name or to renew your request, please call Nancy Becker at 612.823.8205 ext. 223.

A Book of Prayer is located in our Gym vestibule. If you have a family member or friend who is ill or who has recently died, please write their names in our Book of Prayer before Mass so we may include them in prayers during our Sunday Masses.

FFI check the bulletin, the SJA website or call the Parish Center. The Upper Room is located in the Parish Center; Hospitality Hall, in the Church basement; the Arc, across 45th Street, 4457 3rd Av.

Sunday, March 5

ISAIAH Action, after the 11 am Mass in the Upper Room

Tuesday, March 7

8 am Mass in the Church

Wednesday, March 8

Soup Supper, 5 pm in Hospitality Hall

Encounters in our Anti Racism Journey, 6:30 pm in the Church

Heart of the Beast, 6:30 pm in the Gym

Thursday, March 9

8 am Mass in the Church

Choir, 7 pm in the Church

Friday, March 10

Mass, 6 pm in the Church

Stations of the Cross, 7 pm in the Church

Sunday, March 12

Pine Ridge Information Meeting, 12:30 pm in the Arc

1st Communion Parent/Child Meeting, 12:30 pm in the Gym

Singles 50+ Second Sunday Supper, 5 pm in Hospitality Hall

Concert for Joe Chouinard, 7:30 pm in the Church

SignUpGenius for Eucharistic Ministers is available online. It is simple, user friendly and a reminder is sent 3 days before your scheduled volunteer day. FFI contact Marcia at mkurtz@stjoan.com. Gluten-free Communion is available upon request. Please see

any of the Sunday sacristans in the Gym before Mass.

Sunday 9 and 11 am Gym Masses:

Sunday, March 12: Encounter Courage! Presider: Fr. DeBruycker. Pre-mass speaker: Parishioner Mindy Ahler will share her journey of hopeful encounters on her recent cross-country bike ride raising awareness of climate change.

Sunday, March 19: Encounter Desire! Fr. Cassidy will preside and speak. Guest musician, singer Leslie Vincent.

Sunday, March 26: Encounter Judgement! Presider: Fr. DeBruycker. Pre-mass Speaker: John Keller, Director of the Immigrant Law Center of MN will speak.

Sunday, April 2: Encounter Faith! Presider: Fr. Cassidy. Pre-mass: Experiences of encounters from SJA delegates who recently traveled to Guatemala and South Africa. Climate Change Actions: Next Sunday, March 12, our pre-mass speaker is parishioner Mindy Ahler, sharing her stories of en-counters on her cross-country bike ride to raise awareness of climate change. Mindy returned with great hope for our future, and after the 11:00 mass, she will share more stories and actions you can take on climate change. Thank you, Mindy.

Lenten Wednesdays: The Power of Encounter. We enter into Lent with these Wednesday evening opportunities, shar-ing soup and bread, faith and fellowship together. Lent offers us a moment to examine our hearts and lives, indi-vidually and as a community, and to commit to a closer walk with God and with one another. We welcome you with gratitude and love this Lenten season. Soup Suppers

begin at 5 pm in Hospitality Hall. All Encounter Prayer / Learning Experiences are at 6:30 pm in the Church. March 8: Encounters in our Anti Racism Journey. We will

take a deep breath, open our hearts and share our journey as individuals and a congregation committed to breaking down the walls of racism. A contemplative time of prayer and song - and an invitation to action as well at 6:30 pm in the Church.

March 15: An Encounter with Sanctuary. In prayer and music, we will hear stories and reflect on the sanctuary we have experienced in our lives and ways we might be sanctuary for others. March 22: Encounter Forgiveness. Join our Pastors, Prayer

Partners, SJA choir and fellow parishioners in prayer, song, and ritual as we experience the sacrament of reconciliation

and forgiveness. March 29: Encounter the Way. Join us in the church for

Way of the Cross, a contemporary Stations. April 5: Encounter Service. Join us for a service evening to benefit local non-profits. There will be meaningful service

opportunities for all ages.

Soup's On! Wednesday, March 8: All are welcome to commune with others over soup, grilled cheese and/or PB&J sandwiches, 5 - 6:30 pm, in Hospitality Hall. Free will donations will benefit the Southside School Civil Rights Trip. Heartfelt thanks to all volunteers who made soup and helped serve last week's large, hungry Ash Wednesday crowd! Thanks also to Steve & Gail Arnold at Great Harvest Bread Co, 43rd & Upton Ave S, for donations of bread. Finally, if you wish to bring soup or bread please call the Parish Center to sign up, 612.823.8205. FFI contact Marcia Kurtz at mkurtz@stjoan.com. Lenten Centering Prayer: Learn the practice of centering pray-er this Wednesday, March 8, 5:15 - 5:45 pm in the Church. Our prayer will be guided by Donelle Poling - SJA Youth Minister. SJA EcoSpirits: Zero Waste for Lent! Our thanks to the EcoSpirits of SJA, who help to ensure that all our big Lenten events, including Soup Suppers and the Seder meal, are zero waste events. FFI on SJA EcoSpirits, please contact Julie Madden at the Parish Center.

Summary of contributions for the week and fiscal year. Includes plate, envelopes and estimated Sustaining Member payments.

Week of February 20 - February 26, 2017 Actual $36,935 Budget $37,797 Prior Year Actual $36,084

YTD (July 1 – February 26, 2017) Actual $1,362,280 Budget $1,419,346 Prior Year Actual $1,296,158

Thank You!

Choir will rehearse Thursday, March 9 at 7 pm in the Church.

Benefit Concert for Joe Chouinard: Come celebrate the music of Joe Chouinard at a benefit concert featuring stories of hope, creativity, guest performances, the St. Joan of Arc Choir, and original music performed by Joe. We will be collecting a free-will offering toward Joe's struggle with cancer. Sunday, March 12 at 7:30 pm in the church; reception to follow.

Singles 50+ 2nd Sunday Supper, March 12 in Hospitality Hall. 5 pm, Social Hour; 6 pm, Corned Beef & Cabbage dinner; 7 pm, Irish jigs and songs with Pat O’Loughlin & Bill Cagley. Cost $10. Come alone or bring a friend! FFI call Karen, 952.884.5165.

SAGES St. Patrick’s Day Senior Mass & Luncheon, Wednes-day, March 15, 11:30 am Mass in the church, Noon luncheon in Hospitality Hall. Join us for prayer, food, entertainment and prizes! Reservations required, RSVP

to the Parish Center by Noon on Monday, March 13.

Adoptive Families Book Club: This time around, let’s talk about a movie! See the film Lion, and come to Turtle Bread (4762 Chi-cago, Mpls) on Saturday, March 18 at 10 am to chat about it. Anyone interested in adoption is welcome. FFI contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com.

New to SJA? Meet a Mentor Family! Do you love SJA but find it hard to connect with other parish families? Would you like to be part of the many exciting SJA ministries, but don’t know how to get started? Sign up with a mentor family! Your mentor family will join you for coffee and cookies after a Family Mass to share with you the ways their family found a home at SJA. FFI, contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com.

Meet Your Parish Council: This weekend you are invited to visit with Parish Council members: In the Church entry area after the 5 pm Saturday Mass - Andrea Palumbo. In the hospitality area Sunday after the 9 am Gym Mass and the 9:45 Family Mass - Rob Ley; after the 11 am Gym Mass and 11:45 Family Mass -Mary Jo Malacha. Council members will be happy to answer your questions about the work of the Council and to hear your suggestions for our SJA community. They would really like to meet new SJA members so stop by and say “Hello”.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Déjà Vu: Don't miss this exciting 1970 album review with Collective Unconscious on Sunday, April 30 at 7 pm in the gym! Let your eyes, ears and body experience this exciting music in a new way as George Maurer, Jeff Engholm and the entire CU band play down the entire CSNY album with precision and soul! Tickets are on sale at www.stjoan.com.

FFI on Pastoral Ministries contact Mary Ann Kelly-Wright at 612.823.8205 ext 231 or via email: mkelly@stjoan.com.

Mental Health Ministry: Monday, March 13 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale. Join us for a presentation and viewing of the What's Left - Lives Touched by Suicide art exhibit on display at Bethlehem during the month of March. Created by John Bauer after losing his adult daughter to suicide, the exhibit features multi-media art by MN artists. It is designed to encour-age proactive dialogues on breaking the silence and stigmas that often surround loss through suicide and mental illness. Light supper 5:45 pm; program 6:30 - 8 pm. All are welcome. Did You Know? The What's Left art exhibit will be on display at Bethlehem Lutheran Church March 1 - 30. FFI check the church/hallway bulletin boards or go to whatsleftmn.com or www.bethlehem-church.org, under Learn and Grow/adults, scroll down to exhibit information. The BeFriender Ministry offers confidential listening and support in times of life challenges or transitions. FFI contact Carolyn at 651.485.2868 or Mary Ann at the Parish Center. The Parish Visitor Ministry is available to parishioners who

cannot join us for worship or would like an additional long or short term parish connection in the home, hospital, rehab or care center. FFI/or anyone interested in serving in the BeFriender or Parish

Visitor Ministry, contact Mary Ann at the Parish Center. TRUST, Inc. Winter/Spring Grief Support Series: On Thursday, March 9, in the Parish Center, Mark Scannell will speak on Good Grief! Registration and refreshments, 6:15 pm; presentation, 6:30 - 7 pm; facilitated small groups, 7 - 8 pm. Schedules are available on the church/gym hallway bulletin boards or in the Parish Center. FFI contact the coordinator, Norine Larson at 952.925.2437.

Arm in Arm in Africa: The members of the delegation would

like to invite you to share in our journey by going to our website, www.aiaia.org. The AIAIA dele-gation is in South Africa through late in the week of March 6. We are honored to share photos

with you of our day to day encounters with our families and friends in South Africa - simply go to our website and click on the blog menu. I am most grateful for your ongoing support of the seventeen year relationship that we celebrate with our friends, in both the townships, as well as rural South Africa. Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers. -Peace, Fr. Jim Cassidy

Mobile Loaves and Fishes needs toiletry size soap, toothpaste toothbrushes, shampoo, lotion, socks, hats and mittens for the winter. Please place your donations in the collection hamper across from the food shelf bin in the Parish Center entrance. FFI contact mlf.mpls@gmail.com.

FFI on Peace & Justice programs contact Julie Madden at 612.823.8205 ext 228 or jmadden@stjoan.com.

Welcome to Lent 2017, SJA! Our theme this year is "encounter" and we lift up all of you who come together in our justice and peace ministries to listen, to pray and to journey in solidarity for racial, economic, environmental and social justice.

ISAIAH Action Today: ISAIAH (a metro-wide social justice coali-tion of faith communities including SJA) is organizing leaders in Congressional Districts 2, 3 and 6 to engage your US Congres-sional representatives around health care, immigration and clean energy. Constituents will meet with these legislators during Easter and summer recess, with support from ISAIAH. If you live in one of these districts, you are invited to a meeting today, following the 11:00 mass in the Parish Center Upper Room. Thank you!

SJA Outreach Fund: This is the Good News! Through the SJA Outreach Fund, we are proud to partner with Arm in Arm in Africa and the relationships they have built in the townships of South Africa. A delegation is currently in South Africa, and we offer this note to AIAIA from Rev. Dr. Spiwo Xapile, who the delegation will connect with again this year: "I think of you all the time. You have become one of us in a special way. You have taught me that life is sometimes about just following God to where God is leading us. My love to all of you." Thanks to all who support our SJA Outreach Fund - FFI, please contact Julie Madden at the Parish Center.

WAMM Movie Night: Women Against Military Madness (a Sus-taining Partner of the SJA Outreach Fund) is showing Command and Control on Monday, March 13 at 7 pm at 4200 Cedar Ave. So. It is the long-hidden story of a deadly accident at a Titan II missile complex in Da-mascus, Arkansas in 1980, and the efforts to prevent

the explosion of a bomb 600 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

Every Church a Peace Church: On Monday, March 20, SJA will host ECAPC, a network of churches dedicated to nonviolence. Potluck at 6:30 in Hospitality Hall, followed by presenter Harry Bury, retired priest, who will speak on The Road to Peace: Changing the Way We Think and Feel. All are welcome!

Youth and Justice News at SJA: We are blessed by the pres-ence of hope-filled young people on fire for justice! * Yesterday, SJA was proud to host the Catholic Youth Coalition's

LGBTQ+ People of Faith Summit. And we thank our own SJA LGBTQ group for helping to welcome all the young people who came to share their faith journeys together. We pray that as a church we may truly embrace the gifts and witness of all who seek God's presence in our communities of faith.

* A group of students arrives today from the College of St. Bene-dict and St. John's University for a week at SJA. They will stay in our SJA youth house while volunteering in the community for their Alternative Spring Break. We have been hosting groups for several years and are always inspired by these students. We welcome them!

We form the faith of our community through participation in prayer, liturgy, sacraments, education, community and works of justice.

It’s Not Too Late to Join the SJA Children’s Choir! All children in grades 3 - 7: we want you to join our SJA Children’s Choir di-rected by Seth Boyd. The choir will have four exciting Spring perfor-mances at the Gym and Family Masses as well as an offsite con-cert. FFI or to sign up, contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com.

Our Family Lenten Program Starts on Wednesday! Each year, we partner with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre to create a unique production of Jesus’ last days to be presented before the Family Masses on Palm Sunday. Come for Soup Supper and stay for evenings of fun and learning for all ages! Five nights during Lent, participants will make masks, prepare and rehearse for the play and reflect on Lent guided by SJA staff and In the Heart of the Beast artists. Dates are: March 8, 15, 22, April 4 & 8, with two performances on April 9. $10 fee/person or $25/family. To register, contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com.

Can You Help? For our Palm Sunday play with In the Heart of the Beast, we need: Donations: large (2’ x 2’ and larger) pieces of cardboard and plastic ice cream buckets. Costumes: Sort & iron costumes. If you can help with any of this, please contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com. Thanks!

Looking Ahead - Family Mass: On Sunday, March 26, come to the church at 9 or 11 am for a special pre-Mass presentation, Way of the Cross – a wonderful Lenten event for the whole family. This unique Stations of the Cross, which uses adult and youth actors and SJA musicians, brings the

story of Jesus’ passion to life through various eyewitnesses. We encourage families to share in this powerful experience of drama, music and prayer. Family Mass follows immediately afterward. All are welcome!

Shoes for the Homeless: Calvary Church in Minneapolis has a foot ministry, in which volunteers wash and groom the feet of homeless guests and give them a fresh pair of shoes. We are accepting donations of gently used shoes for this ministry. Only sturdy shoes and winter boots in good condition please. Ques-tions? Contact Gabrielle at gdane@stjoan.com.

: FFI contact Michelle Dehn, Nursery Director at

mdehn@stjoan.com or 612.823.8205 ext. 240.

Our Nursery, located in the lower level of the Parish Center, is open for the 9 & 11 am Sunday Masses. The Nursery is a wonderful community of families and volunteers that allows parents to enjoy Mass and meet other families in the Parish. Drop-ins welcome!

: (Ages 4-Kindergarten) FFI contact Therese

Pendleton at 612.823.8205 ext. 230 or tpendleton@stjoan.com.

: (Grades 1-6) FFI contact Marie Bissonnette

at 612.823.8205 ext. 229 or mbissonnette@stjoan.com.

First Communion Registration and Information Meeting will be on March 12 at 12:30 pm in the Gym. You can find details on the website under Sacraments/First Communion.

: (Grades 7-12) FFI contact Donelle

Poling at 612.823.8205 ext. 241 or dpoling@stjoan.com or Kelley Deshler at kdeshler@stjoan.com.

Pine Ridge Information Meeting on Sunday March 12 for 9th - 12th graders! We have two trips this year: July 8 - 14 or July 15 - 21. If you’re interested in a meaningful experience, working at various projects across the reservation & learning about the culture and history of the Lakota people, come to this important meeting, 12:30 - 1:30 pm, in the Arc. FFI contact Kelley Deshler at kdeshler@stjoan.com.

Youth Got Talent Auditions: Are you in grades 7 - 12 and have a talent that you want to share? Come and audition for Youth Got Talent on March 12 or March 19 at 12:30 pm in the Youth House. Sign up for auditions at CLUB or online!

March Madness Game Night: Join us on Friday March 24 for a night of cards, board games, movie and Xbox! 6 - 9 pm in the Arc, $5 - includes pizza! Friends are welcome. FFI con-tact Kelley at kdeshler@stjoan.com

: FFI contact Cynthia Bailey Manns at

612.823.8205 ext. 226 or cmanns@stjoan.com.

Parish Book Club meets on the 2nd Wednesday of a month at 6:30 pm in the Parish Center to discuss our experiences with great stories. Everyone is welcome anytime! Here’s what to read next: * April 19 (date change): The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC): The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis Commission of Black Catholics is preparing for the June 2017 NBCC Congress XXX in Orlando where over 2000 Black Catholics will gather from across the US. On March 18, SJA is hosting a Day of Listening of ideas and concerns for the south Minneapolis communities. Please join us, 9 am - Noon, in Hospitality Hall.

2nd Monday Dialogue with SAGES: Enjoy coffee and dialogue with parishioners, Joe and Carol Bell as they present Our TN2 Experience: A ten day immersion into our Guatemalan Sister Parish. Members from the delegation will show slides and answer questions about their experience. Join us on Monday, March 13, 1:30 - 3 pm in Hospitality Hall. Everyone is welcome!

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